Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Medalists

Each June, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Centennial Medal, first awarded in 1989 on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the...

Each June, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Centennial Medal, first awarded in 1989 on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the school’s founding, honors alumni who have made contributions to society that emerged from their graduate study at Harvard. This year’s honorands are, from left, Nobel Prize-winner and former Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean A. Michael Spence, Ph.D. ’72, a leader in both economics and higher-education administration; MIT professor Michael Artin, Ph.D. ’60, an architect of the modern approach to algebraic geometry; Elaine H. Pagels, Ph.D. ’70, an expert on the origins of Christianity; and Nobel Prize-winner H. Robert Horvitz, Ph.D. ’74, a molecular biologist who has done foundational work in the study of cell apoptosis. 

Photograph by Jim Harrison

Most popular

All That’s Unseen charts the Harvard graduate’s uneasy journey from Appalachia to Cambridge and back.  

Singer Elisa Smith’s whiskey-soaked voice and subversive feminism is part of the genre’s urban shift.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Explore More From Current Issue

Aerial view of modern high-rise buildings surrounded by greenery and city skyline.

In a sea of red brick, the Science Center and Peabody Terrace make their mark.

Massachusetts Hall at Harvard Red brick building with a large clock on top, surrounded by green trees.

With a grade inflation vote and in the courts, the University argued that it’s taking steps to change.

A vibrant group of dancers in colorful outfits poses on a stage with shiny decorations.

The Harvard Arts Medalist wants his smash-hit Cats revival to reach “as many young queer people” as possible.